Ireland: Wicklow Mountains

Dear Ireland,

I am obsessed with you. I wish I had a cute little Irish accent, could play and sing super fun Irish music, maybe even Irish dance? Ok, maybe I'm pushing it. But really, you are a blessed wonderful land of green happiness and I can't wait to see you again.

Sincerely dreaming of Guinness,

Brittany

Can't I just visit Ireland like every weekend? I am so happy that I picked Ireland as my number one destination for my summer traveling even when people were making me doubt myself. I heard a lot of "you know, most people go where its WARM for summertime". Yeah, yeah..well I would go back in a heartbeat. So there! I win.

One day we took a bus tour into one of the most beautiful pieces of earth I've ever laid my eyes on: the Wicklow Mountains. It looked like it was straight out of a movie...oh, thats because it is! P.S. I love you, Braveheart, Excalibur..any of them sound familiar? We saw ruins of St. Kevin's Monastery, calm and peaceful lakes, rolling green hills, and visited Trim Castle. I was in heaven. If you ever have a chance to go here, take it! It is a dreamy, wonderful place.

I'm going to see what Mike and Taylor think about my secret plan to move us to Ireland. Maybe?

 Can you read this? See the "CAMBELL". This was carved into the inside wall of Trim Castle! Maybe my great, great, great X100 grandfather?!

Ireland: Dublin

I have found a new country to obsess over. Ireland is such an awesome place and I already decided that I will go back one day. I met my mama in Dublin two weeks ago to start our fabulous traveling vacation. Thanks to my most wonderful and ever-giving dad we were living the life of luxury in one of Dublin's best hotels: The Shelbourne. It was such a treat!

I fully indulged in being able to speak English freely. So much so that I think I might have scared my cabie when I said "hello!" with so much enthusiasm.

Irish people are SO nice, friendly and their accents just make everyone smile. I wanted to be everyone's new best friend. The first thing we did (might not come as a surprise..) was tour the Guinness factory. We learned how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness and enjoyed the view over the city from the 7th floor bar. We spent a lot of time walking around and checking out the city including: Trinity College and the Book of Kels, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Ha'penny bridge, St. Stephan's Green and of course some lovely bars and restaurants. If you are ever in Dublin I recommend both restaurants we had dinner at: The Farm and The Unicorn. Fun names too! :)

Our favorite thing? Drinking Guinness and listening to live Irish Music for hours. So. Much. Fun.

Cheers! Or in Irish...Sláinte!